Game apparatus



Juy l0, 1923.

J. A.l ERNST, JR

GAME APPARATUS Filed Sept. 27. 1921 lil vrating'parts of the game;

Patented July 1U, 1923.

JOHN'A. ERNST, JR., or RIDGEFIELD PARK, NEW JERSEY.

. GAME APPARATUS.

Application led September 27, 1921. Serial No. 503,529.

of Ridgefield Park, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Game Apparatus, of which th-e following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Thisinvention relates to a game apparatus, andv has for an object the provision of a novel form of game apparatus in which a game such as base ball is played and in which the success of the game depends largely upon the skill of the operator in the manipulation of the apparatus.

Another object resides inthe provision of means whereby this game may be economically manufactured and whereby the playing of the game is made comparatively simple except for the development of skill in the ola l rif further object resides in the provision of means whereby the progress of the game may be very easily and plainly recorded.

rlhe invent-ion is illustrated in the drawings, of whichl Figure l is a perspective view of the apparatus; l

Figure 2 is a partial vertical section showing the various positions of one of the oper- Figure 3 is a transverse section taken through the game board; and

Figure 4 is an elevation of a means for recording the progress of the game.

The invention as shown in the drawings is a preferred form of my invention illustrating it in one of its most interesting applications, although itis to be understood that other applications of this idea of game, and other forms of apparatus and structure, may be adopted and still employ the same operative principle and remain with the spirit of the invention as set yforth and claimed.

The game as'illustrated comprises a support having a body portion l. This support has a long narrow frame having side walls 2 and 3. Along the edges of the side walls, and preferably pivoted to theV inner faces of these side walls, are a plurality of pivoted L-shaped members which I preferably call semaphores, These semaphores comprise a projecting portion 4, which normallyprojects a desired distance above the edge of the'- particular wall to which the semaphore is pivoted, and a wing portion 5 extending at right angles'to the projecting portion 4 and normally lying beneath the fedgeof the side portion and preferably resting on a support which, as shown, is the body portion or bottom 1 of the frame. This lwing portion 5 is provided with a surface 6 extending in the same general direction as the wing portion but bent at right angles thereto. This surface 6 I prefer to designate as an exhibiting surface on which certain preferred designations may be placed. A flanged portion 7 is bent up from the main `body portion of the semaphore and is spaced `from the main body portion to provide a suitable support for a pivot pin 8 which is at its other end fastened to the side wall in any suitable manner. At one side of the projecting portion 4 is an extension 9 which is adapted, when the semaphore is in the dotted position shown in Fig. 2, to rest on the bottom of the frame, or any other suitable stop surface, and is so designed and constructed that when the projecting portion 4 is in this position the exhibiting surface itself will be in a substantially upright position visible above the edges of the side wall.

The distribution of the mass throughout the semaphore is such that the semaphore normally tends to remain in the full line position shown in Fig. 2, and will remain in the position shown in dotted line in Fig. 2 preferably only so long as it is positively held in this position by some other means. When released by this exterior means the semaphore will drop back by reason of its weight to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2. In the disposition of the semaphores throughout the length of the side walls 2 and 3, it will be noted that I have shown the set of semaphores attached to one wall staggered with respect to the set of semaphores attached to the other wall. This is for the principal reason that the means for operating the semaphores will operate only one at a time. This, of course, is only one preferred form of operation and it will be within the spirit of my invention to have more than `one semaphore operated at one time, if desired.

To operate the semaphores, I have provided a traveler member, which as shown is in the form of a fly wheel 10 the body portion of which is pierced by suitable openings ll and 12 to make the-distribution of the mass non-uniform. This fly wheel is mounted on a shaft `10, the ends of which project beyond the edges of the sidewalls 2 and 3. Since the distribution of the mass in this fly Wheel is not uniform throughout,l`

the rotation of the 'fly Wheel by any suitable means, such as the-hand of the player, will make the attempt to cause the fly Wheel to move a definite distance and then stop attraveler.

this point a rather difficult procedure, and this'pointis one wherein 'the skill of the yoperator will be 'called uponand which Will tendto lmaintain the interest of thegame v byrea'son' ofthe difliculty of being successy ful in the manipulation'of the parts.

ln the` koperation of the game, the player` takes the endsof the shaft 11 in his fingers with-,theshaft resting on the upper edgesv ofthe side walls 2 and 3 at one'end thereof, and twistsfthe shaft toproduce a forward motion of the shaft andthe flywheel. The

purp'osein'his mind is to cause the fly Wheel,

by reason of the motion. imparted to it by him, to stop at a definite point, at Which point the kshaft `has 4moved' a particular semaphore yso that the exhibiting` surface is `in the upright position, and'to cause thisrexhibiting surface to befmaintained in this upright :position by reason of the fact that 4-the traveler has stopped so as to rest and :maintain depressed the projecting portion e in the vposition vshown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Iffth'e game being played is a lgame similar to the game of base ball the exhibiting surface 6 Will be 'designated by such designations as ."Home run, Third basel hit, Fly, and other similar designations; sothat if theoperator has in 'mind to be ableto record a particular play it should be .his intention, and his skill `Willbe called upon, to cause the traveler to stop at a pai-- l-'.ticulars:point which may be more or less V'distant from the starting point.

f the traveler should pass beyond the last vpivoted semaphore, a p-air of grooves, such as 2 andfS are provided in the upper' edges of lthe side Walls 2 and 3 -into which the shaft 11 may dropA to stop -the `movement ofthe In order torecord 'the progress and the score 'of -the gameas itproceeds, have provided an indicator as shown in Fig. 4. This comprises a pair of plates the main portion `the diam-ond opposite the bases the indicatorplates are cut out, yas at 17, and adjacent these points, on'pinsl or rivetfssuch as 18, a

plurality of disks are mounted.` These disks Vare formed .of sections, such as '19, which are preferably colored, and 20, which are preferably plain. By. moving the fdisks so that the colored portion 19 Will show through the openings or apertures 17, the presence of the runner onthe base will be indicated; Whereas if the disk is moved to present the plain uncolored portion, the absence of a runner on thebase will be indicated. Other disks, such as 21, 22 and 23, may be used in the Well `known manner to indicate B-al1s,. t Strikes and Outs vention to provideany suitable means (not shown) and to form the semaphoresin suchy manner that as one is kpassed over by the traveler member and raised to an elevated position, the distribution of mass: may be such -that it will remainin this Aelevated po- .'It yisals-o Within the province of my `insition but be ymoved back to its normalpof sition by the next semaphore when that next semaphore is operated by the traveler,-the length and dimensions of each semaphore being such thatk as the Wing portion of one is raised it Will contact With the projecting portion of the other to move that other-back to normal pos-ition.y The material of Vwhich `this game apparatus is constructed is,'.o1 course, immaterial; any suitable substance which may be desirable to the person manufacturing and selling the device may be used. f Whatl'olaim is: 1

1.` A game apparatus which comprises a support, a pivoted .semaphore member conl nected to said support, one arm of said semaphore normally projecting above the edge of the support, means moving upon the edge of said support to rcontact With the projecting arm and depress the.same,-a`nd a second arm on said semaphore normally disposed .below the edge of lthe support.. and adapted to be elevated when the projecting farm is depressed by said means, the mass distribution of said semaphore being sodisposed as to cause the return'ofthesemaphore tonormal position las soon as the projecting portion isfr'eleased by lsaid means.

2. A vgame apparatus `which comprisesv a long7 narrow frame having'side Wallsfand a plurality of semaphore members pivoted to each wall, portions olf said Imembers extending above 4the upper' edge fof said Wall, the semaphore members von one Wall being staggered with respect to the members on the other Wall, and a movable member extending from Wall to Wall and generally at `right angles to the length of said Wall, said membermovable along the Walls Vand successivelyy engaging the portions 'of the semaphore extending labove the Walls, whereby saidsemaphores may be actuated.l

B. A game `apparatus which comprises' a frame having -side Walls, a 'pluralityof 1L- shaped semaphore members pivoted 'to leach of said walls, 'a Iportion of eachvsemaphore projecting above. the edge of the wall, an exhibiting surface or wing on each semaphore disposed normally below the edge of the wall, and means moving upon the edge of the wall to contact with and depress the projecting portion of each semaphore to exhibit the exhibiting wing, the mass distribution of each semaphore being such that the semaphore will return to normal position as soon as the projecting portion is released by the movable means.

4. A game apparatus which comprises a frame having side walls, semaphore members disposed in association with said walls and having portions extending above the edges of said walls, a shaft adapted to roll j along the upper edge of said walls to engage the said portions o-f the semaphore members, a fly wheel mounted on said shaft to provide momentum to the movement of said shaft, said fly wheel having out-away portions there-in, said cut-away portions being so disposed as to make the distribution of the mass of the fly wheel non-uniform, whereby the movement of the shaft is rendered decidedly irregular and uncertain.

5. A game apparatus which comprises aA frame having spaced walls, semaphore members on the said walls and having projecting portions extending above the edges of said walls, exhibiting portions on said samaphore members lying normally below the edges of the walls, and means adapted to be moved by the player of the gameupon the edges of the walls to contact and depress the projecting portions of the semaphore during its movement, the movement of travel of said means being dependent upon the amount of y the movable means.

6. A game apparatus which comprises a long narrow frame having lateral walls, a plurality of semaphore members pivoted to each wall, the semaphore members on one wall being staggered with relation to the semaphore members pivoted to the other wall, one arm of each semaphore projecting above the edges of the adjacent walls, another arm of each semaphore normally disposed below the edges of the walls and having proper designations thereon, a shaft to be rolled upon the upper edges of the walls by force applied bythe player of the game, and a fly wheel disposed on said shaft to give it momentum, said fly wheel having cutaway portions therein to make its movement more irregular, the projection portions of the semaphores adapted to be moved and depressed by contact with said shaft as it moves along the upper edges of the wall, said depressing movement causing an elevation of the exhibiting surfaces, the mass distribution of each semaphore being arranged to cause the semaphore to return to normal position except when the projecting portion is being held depressed by the shaft.

JOHN A. ERNST, JR. 

